Whumptober 2019- Shackled
by Frankie McStein
Summary: Running through the forest while shackled together wasn't how either of them had planned on spending their day.


Scurrying through the forest, with his hand shackled to Higgins', hadn't been on Magnum's list of things to do with his day. And yet, here they were, cuffed together and moving as quickly as they could given that they'd been interrogated for hours before finally managing to get away. What they'd thought was a survivalist camp had turned out to be a wannabe terror cell, planning something big involving a bomb.

The leader had been convinced they'd known something about his plan and had refused to accept that they were just looking for a missing person. He had seemed to really enjoy questioning them both.

Higgins had seemed barely conscious when they had been cut free and cuffed together, a man with a gun covering them.

"Walk," they were told. Magnum had rather awkwardly twisted their arms together so he could hold a little of Higgins' weight, and they had started off into the forest.

"Can you run?" he'd whispered, pushing his mouth close to her ear under the guise of adjusting her weight.

"Tell me when," she'd breathed back, and he'd been happy to hear strength in her voice.

Magnum had waited until they were out of sight of the camp, then pretended to stumble so their guard came closer. Then he simply kicked out, grabbed the man's rifle with his free hand, and clubbed him over the head with it.

It had all seemed rather clever to him. Except for the part where it left them injured and tired and just a little bit lost.

"This isn't the most efficient plan, Magnum." Higgins sounded unimpressed, and Magnum just knew that, if her hands were both free, she would have crossed her arms, regardless of the fact that she was currently edging her way over a gorge via a fallen log.

"How would you know what is or isn't an efficient plan in these circumstances?" Magnum didn't raise an eyebrow at her, but only because he was more focused on maintaining his own balance. "How many times have you had to run through the forest, handcuffed to someone else?"

"Well, never, but..."

He cut her off, his voice triumphant. "Exactly. Never!"

"But! An ex-colleague of mine has experience in this exact situation two times over." Now she was the one sounding triumphant.

Magnum wobbled slightly as he turned to look at her. "R...really?"

There was a pause as Higgins took another, very careful step, bringing their cuffed hands closer together and bringing herself as close to the end of the log as she could with Magnum still standing there.

"Technically no, not really."

"Ah ha! I knew you were lying!" Magnum rolled his eyes and hopped off the end of the log, feet sinking into the mud.

"The first time was much easier as the person he was handcuffed to was dead." Higgins joined him on the ground and gave him a direct sort of look. "Perhaps I should kill you and save myself a world of trouble?"

Things didn't improve from there. The rain that had been threatening all day finally started falling, a light drizzle at first, but it quickly got heavier. Neither of them were dressed for hiking through the forest or bad weather, although Magnum at least had decent shoes on. Higgins' feet, encased in the cute but useless boots she had put on that morning when neither of them had realised they would be heading into the forest, had rapidly gone worryingly numb from being soaked in the cold groundwater. She hadn't bothered telling Magnum that part, knowing there was nothing that could be done about it.

Unfortunately, that meant Magnum's concern at her frequent stumbling was mixed with some frustration, and his attempts to urge her on were lacking in their usual finesse.

"C'mon, Higgins. We can't keep stopping and starting like this. We have a whole bunch of really angry guys chasing after us."

"I am aware of the facts of our current situation, thank you." She was close to snapping, stopped only by the aggravating fact that Magnum was right to be annoyed; they needed to move faster, and her feet constantly slipping under her was slowing them down. She opened her mouth to explain her predicament, how the lack of feeling was spreading up toward her ankles and she couldn't always tell where her feet were going, but a loud popping sound stopped her. A small section of trunk of the tree just off to their left exploded in a shower of splinters, and they both took off at a run, Magnum grabbing the hand that was shackled to his to try keep them from injuring their wrists too badly.

There were plenty of bad things about being stuck out in the forest, in the rain, with inadequate clothing and a total lack of supplies. The worst for them, at the moment, was the way the ground had gone from a bit muddy to utterly soaked. Signs of their frantic flight were too obvious for even the most inexperienced tracker to miss, and they were forced to try to sprint over the treacherous ground.

The one thing in their favor was the fact that they went running together quite often. It was never going to be Magnum's favourite form of exercise, but Higgins was a fan. And, if he were being honest, it was a pleasant way to spend an hour or so, even if she did insist on bringing her hellhounds each time.

So he stretched his legs out, knowing she could keep up regardless of his longer stride, and they made for the slightly rocky ground they had been vaguely aiming for earlier. The voices of their pursuers fell back slightly as they lost their trail where the mud ended, and Magnum slowed, just a little, feeling Higgins dropping back against his grip on her hand.

They kept pushing on though, moving fairly quickly even as the ground become increasingly uneven. Magnum was worried about getting caught, worried about what these men would do to an attractive young woman prior to killing her, especially one who had escaped from them once already, worried about what would happen if they got their bomb into a populated area of the island. He was keeping his eyes fixed on the ground ahead of him, kept his legs moving in a steady rhythm, and missed the way Higgins had slipped even farther back from him.

The next time she lost her balance, she went down hard, a crack from her knee making her gasp in pain. Their wrists being cuffed together meant her fall took Magnum down too, and he landed half on top of her. They stayed frozen for several long moments, both trying to quiet their breathing, and Higgins trying to keep from crying out at the white-hot pain enveloping her leg. There was silence all around them, nothing but the rain hitting the canopy and some clicks and chirps of various creatures.

Magnum finally moved, sitting himself up. "That could have gone better." He was aiming for rueful, having realized when she went crashing down that Higgins' feet were most likely freezing and possibly even slightly numb, but Higgins just sighed and shook her head.

"I know," and her voice was tight. "I wasn't prepared for a headlong dash through the forest. Foolish of me."

He didn't reply, just put his free hand on her shoulder. She pushed herself up in response and he winced in sympathy at the nasty looking cut on her forehead.

"We need to find some shelter," he offered, keeping his voice gentle, letting the worry he was feeling show. It was always a toss up whether she would respond better to sarcasm or sincerity. The small smile she gave told him he'd made the right choice.

"I know. But we may need to take advantage of the fact that we appear to have lost our tails to move a little slower."

He grinned and waggled his eyebrows as he looked down at her boots, as if to say "yeah, cold toes, am I right?" but only rose to his knees and wrapped his hand around hers again. He could see blood on her wrist where the metal had dug in deep and frowned but didn't say anything. There was nothing they could do about it until they figured out a way to get the wretched cuffs off, and they couldn't risk doing that until they found shelter.

Beside him, Higgins pulled herself into an awkward looking position, with one leg under her and the other out in front of her. Magnum looked askance at her but figured it was some yoga thing that would make it easier for her to stand with him, what with him having slightly longer legs.

Sure enough, she lifted herself to her feet at the same time as he stood, although her stance was odd. He threw a raised eyebrow her way, and she shrugged.

"My knee hurts a little, but it'll be fine."

He raised both eyebrows at that and wasn't exactly comforted by her saying, "I don't have any choice but to be okay." But he couldn't argue with her logic. He did put finding shelter as an urgent priority on his mental list though. Whereas before he had wanted somewhere they could hide for a few minutes while they uncuffed themselves, now he wanted somewhere Higgins could rest.

Now that he was looking closely at her, he could see how exhausted she was. The bruises that were forming on her pale skin weren't helping her to look any less done-in. He admitted to himself, because he knew it would be a mistake to admit it to her, that he was worried. Spinning slowly on the spot as far as he could without dragging Higgins around in a circle, Magnum looked for anything vaguely resembling a cave or even a particularly exaggerated overhang. Anywhere they could hunker down for a bit.

"C'mon," he said finally, spotting a likely looking shadow. Higgins didn't ask what he was doing or where they were headed, and that just made the vague worry he was already feeling ratchet up to genuine concern. He moved a lot slower than he wanted to, but, going by her harsh panting, it was still too fast for Higgins. She didn't say anything though, and, when he glanced back, he saw a look of sheer determination on her face.

"We're nearly there," he told her, hoping his voice sounded as encouraging to her as it did to him. "Just gotta get up over these few boulders." He'd noticed the way she was limping, and he'd noticed the way it had gotten worse in the fifteen or so minutes they'd been walking. But there was nothing he could do about it. He settled for offering her a hand while they clambered awkwardly up to the shallow cave he'd spotted earlier.

That just made him take note of the amount of blood on her wrist. He glanced at his own wrist but the skin beneath the metal was only slightly raw in places. Higgins must have twisted her arm against the cuffs as she fell, he decided. Knowing why she was bleeding didn't make it any better. If they didn't get themselves out of this mess soon, he was going to have to start worrying about infections.

"How long can we stay here?" They'd pressed themselves as far back against the rocks as they could, and Higgins sounded like she could quite happily stay there regardless of the men chasing them.

Magnum sighed as he realized how exposed they still were. "Long enough to get these cuffs off, I hope. Do you have anything on you we can use as a lock pick?" The look she gave him told him the answer. "Not even some wire?"

"Oh for goodness sake, Magnum! Why would I just happen to have… Oh." She glanced down at herself then back up to their cuffed hands. "My bra," she said quietly, and then apparently made up her mind that she simply wasn't going to allow herself to feel awkward. "Hang on while I get it out."

Magnum very carefully balled the fingers of his left hand into a fist as Higgins pulled her right hand toward her and did something behind her back. Then he just as carefully closed his eyes as she started dragging her bra strap down her arm. He closed his eyes; there was a difference between not feeling awkward and staring at her underwear.

He could feel her arms moving and heard material tearing. He nearly opened his eyes to watch her fiddle with the lock but realized her bra would be hanging off their joined wrists and squeezed them more tightly closed instead. A sharp tug on his arm made him wince, and she muttered an apology even as she pulled the cuffs again.

"Sorry. I'm not very good at this with my left hand."

Privately, Magnum suspected that exhaustion and cold had more to do with it than anything else, but he kept his comments to himself and, a few seconds later, heard the click of the cuffs opening.

He opened his eyes to see her holding the wire out to him and offered her a grin even as his stomach twisted at the way her hand was shaking. The lock on own cuff seemed stiff, at least, that was his excuse for why it took him longer to pick the lock himself. His elation at being free of the hateful metal around his wrist was tampered by Higgins' total lack of reaction. She hadn't even offered a comment on his lack of skill with a lock pick.

He looked closely at her, trying to assess the state she was in; he could see blood on her leg from her knee, and the swelling was more obvious now. The cut on her head was still bleeding, and a bruise was already starting to form around it. The torn skin on her wrist looked angry, and he knew she had injuries from their questioning earlier too.

His ears pricked up at the sound of voices off in the distance.

"I think they're getting closer," he whispered to Higgins, hating the way she had to struggle just to get her eyes to focus on him. It was as if sitting down had sent a signal to her body that it was time to give up, and she was fighting hard just to stay awake.

"I'm gonna go and see if I can't follow them for a bit. I really wanna know where they're taking that bomb."

Higgins just nodded, and Magnum knew he was going to be spending more time trying to lead the men away from the overhang than trying to gather information.

He slipped back down over the rocks and moved through the trees as quietly as his aching legs would allow. The four men didn't notice him as he crept along after them. They also didn't notice the shadow of the tiny sheltered area where he had left Higgins, and he felt a rush of relief as they moved on by. He wasn't happy about leaving Higgins alone, but he knew she could take care of herself and he knew the authorities would need every scrap of information he could gather.

So he stuck with them as they made their way through the forest and strained his ears. One of them kept mentioning people's names, and Magnum tried his hardest to remember them all, wishing the entire time that he still had his cell so he could make notes.

One of the men gave a triumphant yell, and Magnum thought for a moment he'd been spotted, shrinking back into the cover of the tree trunk he was standing behind and readying his body for a fight. Instead of being jumped by four angry wannabe mass murderers, Magnum found himself watching as they hurried down a barely visible path. He narrowed his eyes as the smell of smoke finally reached him, and he moved slowly down the path until he was far enough along it to see the tents and shacks that filled the clearing the path led to.

He suddenly realized how long he had been creeping through the forest, how long it had been since he'd left Higgins alone, and he spun around, a bad feeling suddenly gathering in his stomach.

He'd taken a few vicious blows to the head when he was being questioned and, if Higgins was okay when he got back to her, he would blame his having left her for so long on the mild concussion he was sure he had. If she wasn't okay… he didn't finish the thought. There was no joke he could make about that.

...

He was glad for the thick leaves tangled over his head when the rain started again. He could feel the wind picking up, shifting the damp air about him, and welcomed it, breathing in deeply. He was still aching, his head spinning a little as he pushed himself to move faster.

He pulled himself over the rocks, shivering a little as he left the shelter of the trees and the cold rain hit him.

"Higgins?" He risked the call, pretty sure they were alone and worried he would be attacked if he just crawled straight into their shallow little shelter unannounced. The lack of reply had him throwing caution to the wind.

"Higgy!" He heard the dismay in his own voice as he scrambled over to her. She was soaked through, the wind he had liked so much clearly having carried the rain right in on her. Her lips had a blueish tint, doubtless from the rock she was resting on having sapped the heat out of her. And her eyes were closed.

"Juliet?" Magnum shook her shoulder gently but she didn't respond, and he tried again, calling louder and shaking harder. A quiet hum was all he got, but at least it was something. He kept talking to her, pulling her slowly back to consciousness, while he quickly checked her over for any serious injuries he might have missed.

"C'mon, Higgins. You just need to open your eyes. It's not hard. You can do it." He couldn't find anything obviously life-threatening and moved one hand to stroke her cheek instead. "I'm sorry I left you for so long," he whispered as her eyes finally blinked open.

"M'num?" She frowned, as if she knew the word was slurred but couldn't figure out why. Her hand moved and he grabbed it, squeezing lightly, feeling the chill that was clinging to her skin.

"It's okay, Higgy. I'm here." It took some effort on his part, and his stomach was rolling from the pain in his head by the time he was done, but he managed to manhandle her limp form so she was resting against him. He was starting to feel a little like going to sleep himself and, although he was sure it was a bad idea, he wasn't too sure why.

As Higgins shifted ever so slightly, so her cheek was nestled against his chest, Magnum's eyes slipped closed. He didn't even flinch when the dogs barked in the distance. He didn't hear the paws scrambling over the rocks. At first, he didn't even react when a cold nose pressed against his hand, snuffling against him. It took the second nose sniffing at his ear to wake him up, and he came to with a jerk.

"Gah!" His instinctive reaction to seeing the Dobermans standing over him, a strangled yell and shock of panic, had him fully awake in a heartbeat. He sat, tense and hoping the fact that he was holding Higgins wasn't going to be taken as some sort of attack on her person by the miserable hell hounds as they sniffed at his hands. They seemed confused by the fact that their beloved mistress wasn't petting them.

And then a shout reached Magnum's ears and one of the dogs, he had no idea which one, turned and went bounding back outside. The other gave him a look, as if wondering what on earth he thought he was doing putting his hands on Higgins.

"T.C.?" Magnum called as loudly as he dared, given that whichever dog was still standing by him was now licking its lips and giving his exposed neck a longing sort of look. "T.C.!"

"Hang on, brother!" The relief that flooded through him left him dizzy, and, when his friend's faces appeared in his line of sight, the only greeting he could offer was a heartfelt sigh. The relief only grew when Higgins, much warmer now than when he had gotten back to her, managed to wake up enough to help them shift her outside. The lads were beside themselves with joy at having her back with them, and she ended up sitting on the forest floor with the dogs practically sitting on her while Rick and T.C. helped Magnum down.

They both listened as Rick explained how they had managed to convince Katsumoto that he needed to flood the area with officers, how the idiot would-be bombers had opened fire on the police, how they and their bomb were no threat to anyone anymore. Footsteps announced the arrival of both police and EMTs, interrupting Rick and T.C.'s good natured argument about whose idea it had been to bring the lads out as search dogs.

As they were fussed over and cocooned in blankets, Higgins caught Magnum's eye and offered a bright, if tired, grin. "All things considered," she said quietly, just loud enough for him to hear, "I'm glad I didn't kill you."

He was laughing too hard to even try to explain the joke to the others.


End file.
